Mud-hole attachment for automobiles.



C. M. DAILEY.

MUD HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

I APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23,1917. v 1,235,557. Patented Aug. 7,1917.

2 SHEETSSHE ET I.

, c. M. DAILEY. MUD HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

' v APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23, 1917. 1,235,557. I Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITED srnras PATENT orr on CHARLES .M. DAILEY, OF ALGONA, IOWA. I

Application filed March 23, 1917. Serial No. 156,884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Gimme M. DAILEY;

a citizen of the United States, residing at Algona, in the county of Kossuth and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mud-Hole Attachments for Automobiles, of which the fol,- lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to mud-hole attachments for automobiles.

My object is to provide a non-slipping device adapted to be attached to one or both of the driving wheels of an automobile to prevent the wheels from slipping when mud holes are encountered.

Another object is to provide a simple, inexpensive and durable device which can be easily and quickly attached to a wheel or detached therefrom; one formed of few parts not liable to get out of order, and so small and light that it can be conveniently carried in the machine, where it will always be at hand when needed.

Other objects will appear in the subjoined description.

The invention is embodied in a device formed of two parts adapted to be securely attached to the driving wheel of an automobile between the hub and the inner periphery of the rim and preferably also in engagement with one of the spokes of the wheel; the parts of the device being connected together in a manner to form a toggle joint adapted to be moved in one direction to secure the device on the wheel, and in the opposite direction to disengage it therefrom;

and one part of the device being provided with a mud-engaging wing adapted to prevent the wheels from slipping and spinning around in a mud hole instead of driving the machine forward. The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of arts as will be hereinafter described and claimed; reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure -1 is a perspective. view showing the device as it appears when being disengaged from an automobile wheel;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the outer side of the device.

- Fig. 3 is a plan'view showing the inner side thereof. 4

.part, when 'the device is in the occupied.

The T-head is provided at its outer ends Mun-How ATTACHMENT roR AUTOMOBILES.

Patented Aug .17, 1917.

on the line 8-8, looking in the direction of the arrow. Thedevice is formed of two parts, A and B, pivoted together: the portionv A being-" the upper part, and the portion B the lower shownin the drawings.

The part A comprises a body portion somewhat the shape of the letter T; the

head 1 of the T, and the stem 2 thereof being the side modified form of thepos t on integrally united together at the center of the head 1, and both being semicylindrical in cross section.

The part B of my device is formed from a U-shaped piece of metal with the curved end-3 of the U bent laterally till its two legs are brought into two planes approximately parallel with each other and at right angles to the.

with the braces 5 which incline inwardly toward each other till they come into enplane which they originally gagement with the legs 4' of the part B at a" a point preferably beyond the free end of the stem 1 of the part A; the extreme outer ends 5" of the braces, after they reach the legs 4, being provided with registering apertures adapted to receive the short bolts 6 which 'form a pivotal connection between the two main parts -A and B of my device.

At its outer end my device is provided with the mud-wing 7 formed integral with i the sections 1 and 2 of the outer member A,

and curving laterally outward'from said sections and also extending beyond them.

This wing 7 is disposed at a right angle to the general plane occupied by the rest of the device, and is braced by the mud-wing bracesv 8, which are shown in the drawings as integral flanges connecting the mud-wing 7 with the T-head 1 of the device The semi-cylindrical head I is curved to conform approximately to inner periphery of the rim of the wheel with which the de vice is to be used, and has its open side 9 in its outer periphery to receive said inner rim, as more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The semi-cylii'idrical stem 2 of the T- shaped portion A is open on its inner side (as best shown at 10 in Figs. 3 and 4) to receive one of the spokes when the device is secured in operative position on the wheel.

As shown in Fig. 3, the inner wall of the- T-head is cut away at 11 to permit the semicylindrical recesses of the head 1 and the stem 2 to merge into each other, just as the spoke and the rim of the wheel which they receive merge into each other at that point. In order to prevent the rim of the wheel and the spokes from being scratched or otherwise defaced by forcible contact with the 4 of the part B of the device, and as thespokes are thickest at their base, the sides l are bent outwardly from each other at their extreme ends to make the space between them correspond to the greater thickness of the spokes at the hub of the wheel, while the extreme ends of said legs 4 are transversely concaved as at 13, to cause them to conform to the curvature of the spokes at their point of meeting each other.

The wider the legs 4 are at their lower ends, the less tendency will the part B of the device have to rockon the hub.

It has been stated above that the short bolts (5 pass through registering bores in the legs 4 and the ends 5 of the braces 5; but instead of bores, slots may be provided if desired, in either or both of said parts, for

purposes of adjustment; one such slot being indicated in dotted line at 14 in Fig. 4.

When the bolt 6 is in the lower end of the slot 14, (which is its normal position) the device will work exactly as it would do if there were only a bore there. But. if it were desired to use the device on a wheel of greater diameter than the one for which it was primarily intended, then the slotsl l would permit the two parts A and B of the device to be suitably adjusted to compensate for the greater diameter of that wheel. 'VVhen the device is in the desired operative position on a wheel, a turn of the nuts on. the bolts 6 will lock the parts in rigid engagement with each other to hold the device securely on the wheel. This is a necessity when the devlce is used on a wheel of greater diameter than the one for which it was originally lntended, and may be done at all tunes, with whatever sized wheels the de vice may be used, as a guarantee against 210- cidental displacement of the device while in use.

The loop 3 which connects the upper ends of the two legs 4 together, permits the legs to move inwardly sufiiciently to bring the bolt 6 slightly inside the plane passingcentrally through the parts A and B, which practicallylocks the toggle joint formed by these two parts, so that even if the nuts of the bolts 6 are not tightened as indicated above, the joint will be practically locked anyhow against accidental outward movement, whenever in use on the wheel for which it was primarily intended.

In operation, it will be seen that placing the device on a wheel around a spoke, as shown in Fig. 1, and then pushing the loop 3 inwardly, will cause the device to forcibly engage the wheel between the inner periphcry of the rim and the hub.

More than one of these devices may be placed on each wheel, if desired. If a wheel starts to slip in passing through a mud-hole, the mud-wings 7 will engage the earth at the side of the tire, and thus enable, the wheel to propel the vehicle.

When it is desired to remove the device from the wheel, it is only'necessary to move the loop 3 outwardly, as indicatedin Fig. 1, which disengages the device from the wheel and permits its easy removal, till it is again needed for an emergency.

The modified form of the device illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8 only difl'ers slightly in corrugations or teeth I); and the braces 5",

are also provided on their-outer ends with corresponding corrugations or teeth 0 adapted to be held in adjusted engagement with the teeth 6 by means of bolts d, which are preferably provided with nut-locks e.

The braces 5 are also provided at their upper ends with slots f, which adapts them for adjustment on the cars a to lengthen or shorten the device and thus adaptit to wheels of different diameters. In this modified form of the device the stem 2' of the T-shaped member only extends downwarclly to the upper end of the lower members B of the device; and the upper curved end 3, of this lower member, is provided with aslot 9 into which the lower projectingend 7 of the mud wing 7 extends; and this projecting end 7* is provided with an opening '5 adapted to receive a. fid j which insures the parts A and B against accidental movement relatively to each other while the device is in operation on a wheel.

In this form of the device, the bolts 6 which connect the legs 4' of the lower mem-' her with the braces 5, are provided with of the wheel embraced by the device, forms a stop for limiting the inward movement of the upper end 3 of the member B of the device, and the 'fid j prevents the outward movement of said end 3, when the device is v in operative position on a drive wheel.

The inward movement of said upper end 3 of the member B is also limited inde' pendently of the spoke of the wheel by reason. of the fact that the bottom of the slot 9 abuts against the extreme lower end 7 of the mud wing 7' when it is attempted to move the upper end of the part B inward tion to be pressed into forcible engagement materially past its operative position.

Having now described the principles of my invention and shown a practical embodiment of the same, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. A device of the character described, comprising an outer and an inner member adapted to contact with the rim and. hub of a wheel respectively; and a toggle joint for bringing said members into forcible engagement with said parts of the wheel to hold v the device on the wheel; said outer member being provided with anti-slipping means.

2. A device of thecharacter described,

' comprising an outer and an inner member adapted to contact with the rim and hub of a wheel respectively on opposite sides of one of the spokes of the wheel; and a toggle joint for bringing said members into forcible engagement with the rim and hub of the wheel and for holding them against accidental displacement thereon; said outer member being provided with anti-slipping means.

3. A device of the character described, comprising an outer and an inner member adapted -to contact with the rim and hub of a wheel on either side of one of the spokes thereof; a toggle joint opening and closing toward and from said spoke for adjusting said members into forcible engagement with V the rim and hub and for releasing them therefrom; and means for locklng said mem-. bers in rigid engagement'with each other in their adjusted position; said outer member being provided with anti-slipping means.-

l. A device of the character described, comprising an outer member conformlng to the curvature of the wheel and adapted to receive a portion of the rim on either side of one of the spokes of the wheel; an Inner member adapted tocontact with the hub of the wheel on both sides. of said spoke; a toggle joint closing inwardly toward said spoke for adjusting said members into forcible engagement with the rim and hub of the wheel; and a stop for holding the toggle in its closed position on the wheel;

said outer member being provided withantipivots connecting the inner ends of said braces with the sides of the inner member at a point between its ends to permit said members to movev relatively to each other to bring their outer ends nearer toor far ther from each other, to adapt the device when said members are moved in one direcwith the rim and hub of the wheel and to release it from the wheel when moved in the opposite direction; and a stop for limiting the relative movements of said members in the direction to lockthe device on the wheel, said stop permitting said members to move in said directionto a point slightly past longitudinal alinement with each other,

to cause the pressure exerted by the device on the wheel to lock the joint against backward movement; said outer member having anti-slipping means.

6. A device of the character described, comprising an outer member and an inner member adapted to contact respectively with the rim and hub of a Wheel; and a toggle joint closing inwardly for bringing said members into forcible engagement with the rim and hub of the wheel with which they are to be used, the outer member having a projection or tongue and the inner member having a slot into which said tongue is received when the toggle is closed, said tongue having an opening and a removable pin therefor to form a positive stop to prevent 1 the accidental opening of the toggle; said outer member of the devlce being provided 7 with anti-slipping means.

7. A device of the character described,

comprising an outer T-shaped member with the head of the T conforming approximately to the curvature of the rim of the wheel, a

both the head and the stem of the T being semi-cylindrioal in cross section with the head having its open side on its outer periphery, and the stem being open on its inner side, the head being adapted to receive the inner periphery of the rim and the stem to receive one of the spokes ofthe wheel; an inner member having two parallel legs meeting; snicl parts i con'nectecl. together 51?; She tencllng outwaullly z ppreximei pl angles te the'l "I l waged huvlng braces 1 iclmmy; maven outer ends into Contact wuh .7 the inner member at a pint betw loop and the free ends 0f the le inner U-shupecl membe said 1 nial with registering apertures ears :5 helm press the two members forcible engagement w" of the wheel; the loop of the inner member gage the stem of the T all for the toggle joint when m into engagemenl; with said. siem tion 'ofsaid eperturaz; relm; e to being arranged to pern'lij. {h toggle to move inwardly 1 n central longitudinal nlinement 01 iihe members of the joint when the 1001' engagement with said 5 mucl-wing carried ell-said lead 8. A device 035 the character cl 'enei 

